Midseason overhauls are a risky business. Just ask the Vancouver Whitecaps.

But in Chicago, coach Frank Klopas has transformed the Fire from playoff hopefuls into legitimate Eastern Conference contenders with a series of moves that paved the way for six wins in their past seven MLS games.

In Saturday’s 3-1 victory over the Montreal Impact, the Fire weren’t at their best but got goals from striker Sherjill MacDonald and midfielders Alex and Álvaro Fernández. All three joined the club in the past three months. Throw in forward Chris Rolfe, who has six goals and two assists in 16 games since returning to MLS, and German defender Arne Friedrich, who signed in the spring, and the Fire have team that’s versatile in the attack, hard-working and a threat to the established powers in Kansas City, New York and Houston.

“When you bring new players in, you expect that they’ll fit in, and for some guys that transition is faster than others,” Klopas told reporters following the win over Montreal. “But now they’ve been in the team for quite a while. We do a lot of stuff in training so there’s a good understanding with the players, but this is what I expect of them.

“They’ll get a lot better and keep improving as the games come. They’re talented players; I expect better and bigger things from them.”

Chicago (15-8-5) is up to third in this week’s Sporting News power rankings, and the rest of the East has been warned.

RISING

Chris Pontius. There was no contentment evident from the D.C. United star who signed a new contract Friday and then lit up the New England Revolution with a goal and an assist in Saturday night’s 2-1 win.

With captain Dwayne De Rosario lost for the season with an injured knee, Pontius will have to be the engine that powers D.C. to its first playoff berth since 2007. He already leads the club with 11 goals, he’ll captain the club in De Rosario’s absence and he showed signs of some creative prowess when he set up Lewis Neal’s game-winner Saturday.

"His production is good, and it is going to continue to be good,” coach Ben Olsen told reporters following the game. “Whether we have him at left midfield or up top will depend a little bit on his production. If we put him up top, his ceiling can be very high and I think he can take us to the next level.

“Chris' focus right now shouldn't be about being anybody he isn't -- in particular, with Dwayne's absence -- he just needs to continue to keep doing what he has been doing. And if he continues down this path of scoring goals and getting assists and we keep winning, he is doing a good job.”

L.A. Galaxy. The champions have overcome their brutal start to the season and have won four out of their past five MLS games to climb to third in the West and sixth in SN’s power rankings. This is a team that was in last place less than four months ago and now sits in prime position to finish as one of the top three teams in the conference.

The back line is intact following the return of Omar Gonzalez, Landon Donovan has returned from injury and new Swedish midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson was good in his MLS debut last Friday. He scored the second goal in L.A’s 2-0 win over Colorado. L.A. now has considerable depth in midfield, an in-form striker in Robbie Keane and U.S. World Cup veteran Edson Buddle returning to health.

The Galaxy won’t catch the San Jose Earthquakes for first place in the Western Conference, but they could be back to their unbeatable old selves by playoff time.

FALLING

Toronto FC. It just keeps getting worse for last-place Toronto FC, now the only club in MLS history to miss the playoffs six consecutive seasons.

On Saturday, the Philadelphia Union scored in the 85th minute to force a 1-1 draw at BMO Field -- extending Toronto’s winless streak in all competitions to nine games -- after which TFC defender Darren O’Dea called his own team “mentally weak.”

The same night, FC Dallas midfielder Julian de Guzman scored the late game-winner that kept his team’s playoff hopes alive. De Guzman, shipped south in July, unloaded on Toronto coach Paul Mariner after the game.

“I’ll never forget the words of Paul Mariner saying that he wants to make sure he’ll send me to a last-place team and let me burn in the heat,” de Guzman told reporters. “It worked out for myself, getting the last laugh, the karma of things. Right now who’s the last place team in the league and who’s battling for the playoffs?”

Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman later confirmed that Toronto is still paying de Guzman’s $1.9 million salary.

Toronto remains mathematically alive in the CONCACAF Champions League but has almost no chance of overtaking Mexican titlist Santos Laguna. In the end, it will be yet another lost season for MLS’ Mistake by the Lake.

Vancouver Whitecaps. In the same “Woe, Canada” vein, the second-year Whitecaps have all but thrown away their playoff cushion and now must fight off FC Dallas for the final playoff spot in the West. Coach Martin Rennie’s summer roster moves have failed to click, and the club now has lost five consecutive games, scoring only twice in the process.

The Whitecaps will play four of their final five games at BC Place while Dallas plays three of its final four on the road, but there’s little in Vancouver’s play to suggest any advantage or momentum.

“This is a team that is a very youthful team, in terms of being together for hardly any length of time,” Rennie told reporters. “You need to go through disappointments to get to where you want to get to. No one ever has success without stumbling along the way, and the people who do well get up and get on with it. That’s what we’re going to do.”